We are new GSP owners since he was 8 weeks old.  Previously owned Dobermans.  It's like learning all over because he is sooo different than the dobies.  Little Cooper is a pee'r and a chewer.  He actually chewed through a Nylabone...it's in half & we can't find the other half.   Having confidence that they were indestructable, we left it for him in his crate for 4 hours & now 1/2 is missing. 

Does anyone recommend rawhide strips or any other suggestions? 

Thank you!

Cooper's Mom

Rawhide no -- can have some rough effects as it can get all swelled up and twisted in the gut.  I had a destructive terrier chewier that did the same thing your GSP has done.  The only thing I have found that he can't destroy is those black --extreme tough kongs.  Not the puppy ones or the red ones.  The black ones.  Don't give him any of the stuffed tough squeakies --speaking from first hand experience they aren't that tough and stuffing in the stomach is expensive.  That nylabone is going to make him one sick puppy.

I also found that I can never leave my dog with toys.  I did leave him with a frozen block of goodies when he was a puppy though --put a little kibble, some treats, and some frozen peas in a little yogurt container with water, freeze over night and leave doggie popsicle in crate when I departed in the morning.  Seemed to make him happy.

Amazing what they can eat isn't it!

The only thing we ever had luck with was cow hooves, but carefully supervised because they'll destroy those quickly as well. Rawhide is most likely pointless- the hard chewers will just eat it right away and then you'll have a stinky mess.

Other than that I'd just leave the chew toys out altogether and try to get pupalupagus out burning some of that energy off in other ways. Pups that age can go pretty hard in spurts. 

Get lots of nylabones and  try some frozen kongs. He'll mow thru lots of chew toys.  Remember he's teething, the cold will feel good on his gums. Plus make sure pup gets plenty of exercise. You're gonna have lots of fun.......................markerdown

Our guy is 19 weeks and, ya, there's just about nothing he can't chew through. We've had luck with Bull pizzels and the cow hooves. Also, make sure you got the nylabone for strong chewers (really hard) as opposed to the flexible ones.

Oh, and frozen carrots too!

Thanks for the reply.  We are learning a bunch.  He's a tough one to figure out.  We specifically got the breed b/c we are triathletes & he will learn to be a runner when he's old enough.  For now, he's still learning how to "properly" walk on a leash.  It takes about 20 minutes to walk to the end of the street (it's a short one) b/c he pulls at the lead so we have to stop until he stops lunging/pulling.  Last puppy class & graduation is this week.  The 3 of us have lots to learn.

Thank you for the tips...the books sure don't explain everything!!

We got Bogart because my husband is a marathon runner.

I've seen the bull pizzle recall ... the local pet store I go to is pretty good about checking that stuff out for us. Note, they can pull long strips from these as well, so they should be supervised as well.

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I do agree that using the Kong is a great idea. On the Kong website they have some recipes for a variety of things you can stuff in your Kong and freeze. I know a popular one is stuffing them with peanutbutter.

Hi Paula...I have used rawhides with Addi, she LOVES them. The best thing is the exercise, though. A tired puppy is a happy puppy. But he's teething, just like babies, they chew everything in sight when teething. It gets better. Addi has pretty much stopped chewing stuff except her toys and bones. She chews at it when she's tired...I don't complain because it keeps her up until we go to bed and she sleeps all that much better at night. You're right, the books don't tell everything, that's for sure! How is Cooper's peeing problem? Check out this thread...(if you haven't already)
http://www.shorthairs.net/GSPForum/tabid/220/forumid/7/postid/327/view/topic/Default.aspx
BTW, Cooper's Mom and I got our GSPs from the same breeder...

I give my guys bones, leg shank bones. I either get them from the store or the buffalo farm. These are also good for stuffing & freezing with various things like you can a Kong, keep my guys busy for hours!

"he will learn to be a runner " .. You are going to find that your pup already knows how to be a runner.  You want to learn him to be a" stopper and returner".    IMHO the  leather pinch collars work the best for leash tugging GSPs.  Used correctly as a training tool, it'll take less than 10 minutes for pup to learn not to tug.  It took my present  hard head about a block to figure out not to tug on a leash. .............markerdown

I tried this at someone's suggestion:

www.westpawdesign.com/catalog/dog-toys/cat_zogoflex-products.html

It has lasted longer than any non-Kong/Nylabone ever has...almost a month with 2.5 power chewers.  They're expensive but they love them.

I had a thought on the peeing thing --if he is peeing that much to include when playing it reminds me of when my dog had a urinary/bladder infection.  Catch a little pee (slide a plate under the dog) and take it in a container into the vet a for a quick test.  Might be worth it.  A little meds and it was like night and day.

Bxr-linda - I give my dogs the deer antlers, but I order mine online and get the big ones.  They are about 9 inches long and about 1.5 to 2 inches around.  It takes them a while to even make a dent in them.  Ringo is a major chewing machine and most things are gone in seconds, but the deer antlers seem to work the best.  I also gave him a big log to work on outside.  It is about 2 feet long and 4 inches in diameter.  That keeps him busy dragging it around and chewing on it.  So far, no problems with the log either. Anything else he has chewed up too fast.  Bones don't really work with him either as he ends up breaking and splintering them.